Autofiction Examples to Inspire Your Writing

Five books that are wonderful guides for writing your story as fiction

I am excited to share some amazing examples of autofiction to inspire your journey of writing your life as a fiction novel.

First up is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

The Bell Jar, which tells the story of Esther Greenwood, a young woman who suffers from the society‘s pressure and attempts suicide during the fifties. This book is so brilliant and devastating and hauntingly prophetic of the writer’s life. She uses inspiration of characters close to her, educational experiences, and of course, her own mental decline of source material for this autobiographical novel.

Second is Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

Inspired by her real life, the novel tells the story of a lesbian teenage girl stuck in a fundamentalist Christian cycle. Jeanette, being indoctrinated by her mother, at first struggles to brush off the orthodox Christian ideas. It is only later when she realizes what she truly believes in. This semi-autobiographical book is stunning.

Third is Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott

A classic that you may know all too well about four sisters that create adventures and romance on their way into womanhood. The story is inspired by the author, Louisa May Alcott’s real family and the struggles she faced in a man’s world to become an author.

Fourth is On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

This book is poetry prose, written as an intimate letter to a mother who cannot read English. It takes a vulnerable glimpse into the Vietnamese-American immigrant experience through the voice of Vuong. This type of auto-fiction is considered self-insertion, a more overt way for the author to place themselves within the story.

Fifth up is Misery by Stephen King

You may be surprised to see this one listed here, but for sure this and many of King’s books are considered author surrogate. Here, the main character is almost entirely fictional but acts as a mouthpiece for the King's own perspective. In Misery, which uses the fictional scenario of a kidnapped writer to explore issues King struggled with including addiction and fan stress. Here, we see his fears brought to life through a fictional story.

There are so many more, but these are few that show the diversity of how autofiction can be written. I invite you to pick one or two of these to read for yourself. Want to try writing autofiction for yourself?

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